Firefox version 29.0: User interface change

Firefox released version 29 at the end of April. It has a new User Interface which will probably mess up what ever customizations you have defined in version 28 or earlier.

However, there is a new Add-On called Classic Theme Restorer (which is only available for version 29 or later) that allows you to change the User Interface almost completely back to the version 28 look and feel.

There is another Add-On called Classic Toolbar Buttons which allows some great customizations.

With both of these Add-Ons, read the information on the Mozilla Add-On Website carefully to find all the tweaks to help make the new version comfortable to use. On my Firefox, I now have colored tabs on the bottom of the toolbar, some new icons that look real nice and a combined stop/reload button, just to name a few tweaks.

Mozilla claims some security improvements in 29 and it does seem a little snappier (subjective observation).

The Following User Says Thank You to satrow For This Useful Post:

I hated it at first. I tried Classic Theme Restorer but there were problems - notably the FF button hiding behind the left-hand tab. My main beef was the loss of the add-on bar, which I got back with this.

The Following User Says Thank You to CEScott For This Useful Post:

If you read all of the posts on their Facebook page, folks are not happy with this UI change to look more like Chrome. I finally dusted off my old copy of Chrome and updated it to the most current version (at least this time I did not have to fix a ton of broken stuff after the update to fix like I usually do) and I will be running FF28 for the foreseeable future.

I am going to have to be in the right frame of mind to update to 29 and by the time that frame of mind hits me, they will probably be out with a newer version.

I also had a few problems with Firefox 29, missing add-on bar, Forecastfox not working but after a lot of perseverance have now got it working to my tastes on all my computers but my biggest problem was with the Firefox moderators on their forum. I found that when myself and lots of other users started to criticize the new browser the replies from them were both patronizing,unhelpful and childish.

Firefox 29 UI

I was expecting to dislike the new Firefox UI and find it difficult to use, but my fears were unfounded - the benefits far outweigh the disbenefits, and it took very little time to get used to it. It was good to get rid of that awful orange button (copied from Opera, I think) and the new options/add-ons panel is excellent. This change is a noticeable improvement.

However, I found the row of tabs difficult and unattractive to view until I switched from the default theme to Black Shine (plus a few visual tweaks in Tab Mix Plus, e.g. change red to yellow ochre in title text of unread tab). Until now I had always considered themes to be a complete waste of time.

(Firefox has been my main browser for some time. I use IE11 and Chrome too, but mainly for testing.)

Firefox released version 29 at the end of April. It has a new User Interface which will probably mess up what ever customizations you have defined in version 28 or earlier.

However, there is a new Add-On called Classic Theme Restorer (which is only available for version 29 or later) that allows you to change the User Interface almost completely back to the version 28 look and feel.

There is another Add-On called Classic Toolbar Buttons which allows some great customizations.

With both of these Add-Ons, read the information on the Mozilla Add-On Website carefully to find all the tweaks to help make the new version comfortable to use. On my Firefox, I now have colored tabs on the bottom of the toolbar, some new icons that look real nice and a combined stop/reload button, just to name a few tweaks.

Mozilla claims some security improvements in 29 and it does seem a little snappier (subjective observation).

I have everyone in my household converted to the Classic Theme Restorer Extension. By and large, everyone is happy. Even me, and I can be hard to please when it comes to having my icons and tabs where I want them.

Because I use 64-bit Win7 Pro, I run Pale Moon as my primary browser and Firefox as my secondary browser; they can be open at the same time, and run side by side very nicely. They use identical (but separate) profiles, and I have always used the original Toolbar Buttons extension, which allows the use of a variety of buttons (and also works with Thunderbird), to customize their toolbars. Were it not for the fact that their titlebars are different, I'd sometimes be hard pressed to know which browser I was using.

When FF 29.0 was introduced, I was very unhappy with the changes in the UI. The new version may be more secure, and MAY be slightly faster, but the changes in appearance which, to me, appeared to be simply for the sake of change, really turned me off.

Fortunately, using the Classic Theme Restorer extension in FF, I once again have it looking almost the same as PM.